Live On Board Arvia K316

[Beckett]

Another great review Damian. I'm with Presto2 in her suggestion of a new career for you. You really are an excellent writer and your sense of humour shines through. I hope someone hands your glasses in to Reception. Jane xx

[DamianG]

A busy day in Barcelona today with a few different cruise ships in port. Costa are like me, carefully reversing into the parking space so they can drive straight out, whereas Tui just bunged it in & reversed it out later. 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by DamianG

[purplesea]

Thanks for a great review. Pity you didn't get to see Neil Lockwood, his performance when we were onboard in May was great. I would definately go and see him again if I get the chance.

[CarlaMarie]

4 hours ago, DamianG said:

Bream, not sure what the onions are meant to add. 
 

 

Does everyone think that the presentation of some of the meals could be worked on?

 

So pleased you got to visit the church, and that you were quickly seated for dinner. I do agree about the Celebrity ship, they look very smart and elegant. 

Edited August 14, 2023 by CarlaMarie

[DamianG]

35 minutes ago, CarlaMarie said:

 

Does everyone think that the presentation of some of the meals could be worked on?

 

So pleased you got to visit the church, and that you were quickly seated for dinner. I do agree about the Celebrity ship, they look very smart and elegant. 

Presentation of the photo (i.e., not sideways) would help! 😉

[TigerB]

25 minutes ago, DamianG said:

Presentation of the photo (i.e., not sideways) would help! 😉

 

Oh yes, you need to get the photo orientation right, young man!  I recall @Interestedcruisefan getting chowed at with his photos; a few folk are still suffering with neck strain!🤭

[TigerB]

Thank you for another interesting read.🙂

 

I reckon, at the end of your cruise, everyone in your party will be filling in a crew appreciation card for the delightful Love Joy.

 

 

 

Apologies for the following, I just couldn't resist........

 

[DamianG]

Just after midnight & according to the TV information screen it was still 27 degrees. We’ve never seen a weather warning like this before either. 
 

Edited August 15, 2023 by DamianG

[DamianG]

Already warm just before 8am & we have a canoeist chasing us down on our approach into Alicante. 
 

[P&O SUE]

My husband is the same sort of parker as you! Very sensible I think.

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, DamianG said:

Just after midnight & according to the TV information screen it was still 27 degrees. We’ve never seen a weather warning like this before either. 
 

Perhaps it's because of the recent incident with the child who suffered serious heat exhaustion and had to have emergency evacuation from the ship. 

 

Whatever the reason it seems a sensible course of action is issue a warning, particularly when there are a lot of seadays and people may not be aware how dangerous the sun can be when at sea.

 

Hope you have a wonderful day in Alicante and you all survive the heat unscathed.

[Helenk1234]

Hi everyone. I'm on the same cruise and it is proving a great experience but not one without a few issues. I was also impressed with the embarkation process which was probably the quickest we have experienced. But I was less impressed that one of our suitcases failed to arrive at our cabin. At 7.30pm instead of relaxing in a bar we were frantically trying to find out where it was. It finally turned up in the stairwell on deck 15 (our cabin is on deck 10). Luckily we have very distinct cases which we were able to show a photo of which probably helped to find them.

 

I tried to book a meal in Meridien but the my holiday app said the queue was full so I had to go down and get a pager as well. They explained that when there are a lot of people in the queue it shows as full but it gets opened again later. The next night I tried to use my holiday again to book the meridien but although I got in the queue and kept refreshing like I had been told to do eventually the whole system crashed on my phone so again we had to go down to the restaurant and were given a table. I have since determined that the best way to use virtual queuing is to enter the queue and then don't touch your phone!!! I save set the screen saver delay to 10 mins and I keep the screen alive but otherwise don't touch the phone. The number of people in the queue changes automatically without refreshing. This is a pain if you are someone who likes to use the Internet whilst waiting but since doing this I have been successful. The only issue now is what time to actually enter the queue.

 

I have found most of the entertainment to be really good. We have done 2 silent discos and 2 comedy shows and the nightclub experience in the Sky dome last night was good although not enough people there to get the best atmosphere. My big disappointment has been the theatre. Normally I expect at least 1 spectacular west end musical/Hollywood musical show but nothing like that on arvia. There were a couple of shows - one described as about a computer naive guy tryng to battle technology which didn't really sound like a good basis for a song and dance spectacular. The much publicised Greatest Days show with Take That music can only be described as dreadful. The boring storyline delivered by performers with screeching voices and nowhere near enough music. It didn't help that 10 minutes before the end of the performance the sound system broke down and the performance had to be halted. Quite a lot of people left the theatre whilst they were fixing it so I don't think I was the only person who was disappointed. We stuck it out and the last 10 minutes were probably the best part of the show. On several days the theatre was used for concerts rather than shows. Strange as there are other venues more suitable for that sort of entertainment. And I'm not sure whether there was actually much demand for concerts by 1970s has beens (lead singer of ELO)!!! Bring back the old style entertainment in the theatres is what I say.

 

My last word is about the number of children on board. We were a bit concerned booking in school holidays but we have found the majority of children on board to be extremely well behaved and a credit to their parents. When we are on board during the day we use the area around the Beachcomer Bar which is adult only. But it would suggest not using the swimming pool there as after a couple of days it started to look like pea soup and is getting more murky by the day.

 

Hope someone out there finds these comments useful.

[DamianG]

14^th August

 

We had a bit of a lie in and a leisurely start to the day. We didn’t bother with the MDRs and instead had breakfast at the Quays where Kyle has taken a liking to the pancakes on offer. From there I went to reception to ask about my glasses. The lady in front of me was doing the same so when she was presented with a tray full of glasses to choose from I could already see my case. When it came to my turn there was a fine selection but I just chose my own. Kyle later asked if I’d tried any other pairs on!

 

We got a latte and tea from Vistas then just went back to the cabin where we spent most of the morning, bar a few visits to the launderette. After overheating in Valencia Kyle had already decided to change his mind about going to the zoo in Barcelona so instead we just had a simple plan to go to El Corte Inglés on Plaça de Catalunya for a bit of shopping and some lunch. We disembarked just after 12pm (yes, I know, midday sun again) and we were quickly on a shuttle bus that set off as soon as we seated. For any coach fans it was a brand new Mercedes, very comfortable with great air con and the best shuttle bus yet. We were dropped off near the World Trade Centre as usual and headed off towards the bottom of La Rambla.

 

There were Tui and Costa ships in port and it was immediately apparent that La Rambla was super busy. I don’t know about anyone else but for us it has really lost its enchantment with all the crowds of tourists and so many souvenir shops at the lower end selling all sorts of tat. Doubtless it’s a much better experience in the evening with all the bars and restaurants in full swing. It was a real slog getting from the bottom to the top, very hot and we were constantly having to avoid people. Despite my best efforts one man completely walked into me, after which I said to Michelle that I was fed up of dodging round people not looking where they are going, both ashore and on board the ship. As she said, so many are walking along focusing on their phones rather than where they are going as well. By the time we got to Plaça de Catalunya Kyle was completely fed up and said that the trip better be worth it.

 

Once inside El Corte Inglés we were hit with a refreshing blast of air con which was very welcome. We made our way up an endless series of escalators to floor 9 where the juguetes were and Kyle quickly found his collectables. Although there was a good display section the shelves were not very full and there was nothing appropriate for him. At least he showed some maturity and decided to save his money, compared to many times in the past when he would have just bought something anyway.

 

From there we went up to the next level and braced ourselves for the cafeteria. If you’ve never been it can appear chaotic and intimidating but if you do go through and get something it’s worth every penny (or cent). It was crowded and a hostess was directing traffic. “Italiano?” she shouted at us and I shook my head and replied “No, tapas” after which she directed me to the counters on the left side. There was a long line waiting for Italian food, presumably including a lot of Costa passengers, but our side wasn’t too bad thankfully. At the tapas station I asked for calamares, tortilla and patatas bravas. There were also croquetas but we thought that we would have enough, especially as the tortilla came with some toast and a tomato dip. The chef was multi-tasking, cooking everything to order bar the tortilla where he had one already sliced and 2 more cooking in pans. From there we went to the drinks section and got a Fanta (self-serve on tap) for Kyle and a bottle of Melior Rueda white wine for us. The total bill was €33.70 and I’m certain a similar meal would have been double that on La Rambla.

 

Kyle had secured us a table and somehow I managed not to let the Fanta and wine bottle slide off my tray. Once we were all seated Kyle launched into the calamari and potatoes and ate very well (always a relief for us). Verdejo wouldn’t be my favourite wine but this one was okay and most importantly cold (and “barato” – cheap). The calamari was good and the patatas excellent. Often we find that UK versions of the brava sauce are far too spicy and overpower your palate, but this one was just right as you would expect, very tasty with just the right amount of spice. We took our time and I enjoyed looking out of the windows which run all the way around the seating area and provide spectacular views. 

 

From the cafeteria we went down to the pet section but didn’t find anything for our cockapoo Teddy. After that we went all the way down to the basement to pick up some shaving gel for me and some cabin snacks for Kyle. As luck would have it the wine section was next to the toiletries isle and my eyes were immediately drawn to the stickers quoting 50% and 70% off. Now you may not have noticed that we like our wine (“no way, really?” I hear you say….) and I was absolutely spoilt for choice. I’m used to prices being higher in the UK but some of those I saw were astonishing, with the lowest being €1.58 for a 75cl bottle. Even the Australian wine 19 Crimes which costs anything between £7.50 - £9.99 at home, was just €3.00. I could have filled several shopping trolleys but in the end chose La Luz Va, Valpincia Crianza, a 100% Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero that should suit us nicely, and a bottle of Castelblanc Brut Zero Cava, more of a risk as often they can be a bit too dry but fingers crossed.

 

Shopping done we set off back to the ship but this time we avoided most of La Rambla by going down Carrer de Rivadeneyra as far as the Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter then cutting across. It was busy but nothing like La Rambla and the journey seemed far quicker. There were plenty of passengers heading back to the shuttle buses but no queues. Michelle saw a teenage lad with his shirt off (walking along with his family) who was stopped by a policeman and told to put it back on. Inevitably the family got on the same shuttle bus as us (which was the nice Mercedes again). The temperature gauge on the coach stated 34 degrees.

 

There were multiple scanners for security checks in the cruise terminal and just like supermarket checkouts at home I picked the wrong line. I didn’t realise that a wheelchair user had gone through with a bag on his lap and caused a hold up. A family had bustled through behind him before the security guard had a chance to see them, so he subsequently sent them all back. It was too late for me to switch lines as my rucksack had already passed through the scanner. The security team then had to look through the wheelchair guy’s bag and found several things which had set off the scanner, including a pair of walkie talkies. Lord knows why his companion doing the pushing hadn’t put the bag on the conveyor belt like everyone else. Once through we had to dodge around someone looking at the their phone rather than where they were going

 

Back on board we spent time in the cabin and on our balcony. Lots of passengers were at the Sunset Bar deck 8 aft and for once there was some decent music playing. We waved off Tui’s Mein Schiff 2 and lots of their passengers were out on deck waving and cheering. The time passed quickly and it was soon 6:45pm when our ship was getting ready for departure. I now regretted agreeing to meet everyone at 7pm and stayed outside on the balcony as long as I dare before eventually rushing through a shower and getting ready for dinner. There were still loads of passengers in the jacuzzis and around the Sunset Bar in general, but it never occurred to me that this would have a positive affect on our dining experience.

 

We’d already decided that we didn’t fancy the MDR main course choices. Since when has gammon, eggs, pineapple and chips been considered fine dining? We therefore called in the Olive Grove on our way down to the Amber Lounge and were attended to straight away. The receptionist gave us a pager and said that the wait could be anything between 20 and 40 minutes, which we said was fine. 20 minutes later the pager buzzed at 7:29pm. We were seated at a table for 2 and a table for 4 pushed together. Our tables were opposite the entrance so it wasn’t as good as last time but we were happy to be in and seated.

 

I had the Italian Antipasti for starters which I really enjoyed. Michelle had Bolinhos de Bacalhau which she thought were good too. She also had a well presented Italian Salad to go with it. For main I had Middle Eastern Beef Kofta Gyro Pittas (more beef) which tasted better than it looked. Michelle had Moroccan Slow-Cooked Lamb Shank Tagine which was a popular choice and went down really well. Her mum had Spaghetti Carbonara which I thought looked a bit too wet. Michelle had Sicilian Lemon Tart which was very good, and I chose badly with Piedmont Torta Gianduia. I expected it to be rich (which is fine for me) but it was far too dry with a very dense sponge and just a thumbnail of cream on the side. I threw in the towel after a few spoonful’s.

 

Service was extremely slow (not that it really bothered us though it took several attempts to request more drinks) and we left at 9:29pm, exactly 2 hours after being paged. We went to the library side of Andersons and were shocked to find that it was completely empty. Michelle then suggested that maybe Brodies was packed full of passengers watching the Monday night football, not that any of us were bothered enough to go check. We also thought that perhaps lots were still outside on the open decks.

 

We stayed in Andersons until 11:15pm then returned to the cabin. Kyle’s movie finished just after midnight and whilst flicking through the TV options Michelle noticed a warning message about temperatures reaching as much as 40 degrees in some of the ports. It also said that it was still 27 degrees which we were really surprised at.

[Helenk1234]

13 hours ago, purplesea said:

Thanks for a great review. Pity you didn't get to see Neil Lockwood, his performance when we were onboard in May was great. I would definately go and see him again if I get the chance.

My comments about him being a 1970s has been probably were a bit harsh. Just reflecting my frustration that one thing I love about a cruise (the chance to drag my musical hating husband to a musical spectacular) had been taken away from me on the Arvia!

[DamianG]

Great food and views at El Corte Inglés

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by DamianG

[DamianG]

Last night’s MDR choices.

 

[DamianG]

Anderson’s at 9:33pm

 

[Son of Anarchy]

Another great read, thank you Damian.  

 

We've also got fed up with La Rambla, and tend to bounce around in the Gothic Quarter.  Far better places to wander round and have a less hectic and better priced drink  We quite like Placa Real if we feel like being a bit touristy, but without the La Rambla hassle. 

[Son of Anarchy]

42 minutes ago, DamianG said:

Anderson’s at 9:33pm

 

We went on Oriana with SIL once.  We went into Andersons and I said that I really like the place.  SIL said it looked a care home she'd worked in years ago!  Hey ho. 😂

[DamianG]

More canoes.

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by DamianG

[DamianG]

The busy Alicante beach nearest the cruise terminal.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by DamianG

[DamianG]

From gammon & chips last night to Betty’s Hot Pot, tonight’s MDR menu. 
 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by DamianG

[Son of Anarchy]

Whitebait then haddock for me.  Bit spartan.

[purplesea]

I'd struggle to find anything on that menu! I expect I would end up with steak and cheese for afters.

[CarlaMarie]

1 hour ago, DamianG said:

From gammon & chips last night to Betty’s Hot Pot, tonight’s MDR menu. 
 

 

 

 

Are the Ceasar salad and Tomato Soup on every menu now? I would struggle too @purplesea.